Integrating a plurality of systems distributed among a plurality of sites into a single site is performed through virtualization. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, integration of a plurality of systems will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state before integration, in which a head factory system, an X branch system, and a Y branch system operate. An elliptical shape represents a job.
Each system exchanges files with another system and, in each system, changes are made to files by executing jobs or by performing user operations. For example, an order file 1001 containing purchase order data created by a job of the X branch system is sent to the head factory system, and a purchase order file 1003 containing purchase order data created by a job of the Y branch system is sent to the head factory system. In the head factory system, production plan data is created from the received purchase order files 1001 and 1003. The head factory system sends expected delivery files 1002 and 1004 created based on the production plan data to the X branch system and the Y branch system. In the X branch system, expected delivery data contained in the expected delivery file 1002 is read by a job, and processing for the read expected delivery data is executed by a job X. In the Y branch system, expected delivery data contained in the expected delivery file 1004 is read by a job, and processing for the read expected delivery data is executed by a job Y.
In the example in FIG. 1, operation administrators M1, M2, and M3 of systems only perform management of their respective systems. The operation administrators M1, M2, and M3 of the systems do not keep track of processing that is executed for a file sent from one of the systems managed by themselves to another system. For example, the administrator M2, who is the operation administrator of the X branch system, does not keep track of what processing is executed for the purchase order file 1001 in the head factory system.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system after integration. In the example in FIG. 2, a head factory server, an X branch server, and a Y branch server are run on physical resources installed at a certain site. These servers are virtual servers. The head factory server performs operations similar to those in the head factory system illustrated in FIG. 1, the X branch server performs operations similar to those in the X branch system illustrated in FIG. 1, and the Y branch server performs operations similar to those in the Y branch system illustrated in FIG. 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, even if integration is implemented, there are some cases where each virtual server operates independently, and the relationships among a plurality of systems before integration remain unchanged. In such cases, an operation administrator of a system after integration is not able to directly keep track of the predecessor-successor relationship for a plurality of jobs that cooperate through using files (that is, the order in which the plurality of jobs are executed).
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-324283 is known as an example of the related art techniques.